:|: MHO :|: Pappu can't vote or what? Mumbai missing....

"Don't be a pappu (loser). Cast your vote," exhorted the high-decibel ad campaign of the Election Commission. In 2004, 47% of Mumbai voted, in 2009, 44%, or perhaps a bit less. The instant shock-horror analysis asked in a wailing monotone: whatever happened to the 100,000 Mumbaikars who stormed television screens after the Pakistani invasion of Mumbai and threatened to start a revolution armed with blazing candles? They went back to their smoke-and-spirits parties after their 15 minutes of fame was over, darling. Those demonstrators had exhausted their discomfort-quota for years. Voting in May requires some serious tactical negotiations with the elements. If the price of democracy is going to be sunburn, why not wait for the vote to reach the net? It can't be too long. We are the champions of IT, aren't we? Facts lay hidden in a different question: not in the absence of the rich, but the boycott of the poor. Most non-voters of Mumbai are either edge-of-nerves middle class or edge-of-hunger poor. They did not vote five years ago, and they did not vote again. The case is different in other parts of country where most voters are either poor or old aged.. Young and middle class was missing in such important elections. If not exercising one's franchise indeed makes one a pappu, then the city of Mumbai would seem to be a prime candidate for the title – with due apologies to the 43% who did vote. But before we make any judgments, pause for a moment and put yourself in the shoes of the Mumbai voter. Let's say you wanted to punish the government whose incompetence allowed 26/11 to happen. The buck would have to stop with the Congress, which was in office both at the Centre and the state. But what if you're uncomfortable with the saffron ideology, as represented by the BJP and Shiv Sena? What alternatives are you left with?  Raj Thackeray's MNS, whose avowed intention is to irreparably wreck the cosmopolitan ethos of Bombay, sorry Mumbai? The Samjwadi Party, which has a problem with the English language and computers? Or an independent, who has no realistic chance of winning? You could, of course, exercise the option to turn up at the booth and say you don't want to vote for anyone. But while that is a noble gesture, it really makes no material difference to the result, so what does it achieve? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we shouldn't vote. But I think there's a strong feeling among many voters that it doesn't really matter whom they vote for. One set of jokers is replaced with another, but nothing changes. Every party makes pious statements. But can any major party honestly declare that every single candidate it has fielded is a shining example of integrity, honesty and hard word? As the saying goes, "Hamaam mein sab nange hain (everybody is naked in the bathhouse)". But then, why blame voters for looking away? If people don't vote because of a sense of laziness or lack of interest, that's wrong. But if they don't vote because they've lost faith in the system's ability to deliver any results, that's scary. An invention awaits the next genius: a camera that can photograph the mind. Television politics has become a screaming contest between politicians, perhaps because the camera has lost the art of stimulation. Since there is no hope of getting a different kind of politician, we need a different sort of camera. It will chase the mind for news. Regards Shail

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